Rodrigo Rato
Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo (born 18 March 1949) is a banker, politician and convicted felon who served in the Council of Ministers of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He also served as the ninth managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from 2004 to 2007 and the president of Bankia from 2010 to 2012.
Rodrigo Rato | |
|---|---|
| Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund | |
| In office 7 June 2004 – 1 November 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Horst Köhler |
| Succeeded by | Dominique Strauss-Kahn |
| First Deputy Prime Minister of Spain | |
| In office 3 September 2003 – 17 April 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar |
| Preceded by | Mariano Rajoy |
| Succeeded by | María Teresa Fernández de la Vega |
| Minister of Economy | |
| In office 27 April 2000 – 17 April 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Solbes |
| Second Deputy Prime Minister of Spain | |
| In office 6 May 1996 – 4 September 2003 | |
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar |
| Preceded by | Juan Antonio García Díez |
| Succeeded by | Javier Arenas |
| Minister of Economy and Finance | |
| In office 5 May 1996 – 27 April 2000 | |
| Prime Minister | José María Aznar |
| Preceded by | Pedro Solbes |
| Succeeded by | Cristóbal Montoro (Finance) |
| Member of the Congress of Deputies | |
| In office 21 November 1989 – 12 May 2004 | |
| Constituency | Madrid |
| In office 28 October 1982 – 21 November 1989 | |
| Constituency | Cádiz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rodrigo de Rato y Figaredo 18 March 1949 Madrid, Spain |
| Political party | People's Party |
| Spouse | Gela Alarcó |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Ramón Rato (Father) |
| Education | Complutense University University of California, Berkeley |
Rato was arrested on 16 April 2015 for alleged fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. His case was still awaiting trial a year later when his name appeared in the Panama Papers. Despite his prior assurances that he did not own companies in tax havens, apparently he used two offshore companies to avoid taxes on millions of euros kept overseas. It has been alleged that he owes taxes to both the Spanish and Panamanian governments.
On 23 February 2017, Rato was found guilty of embezzlement and sentenced to 4½ years' imprisonment. In September 2018, the sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court of Spain, and Rato entered prison on 25 October 2018.